Rail-bond.



No. 812,900. PATENTED FEB. 20, 1906. E. G. THOMAS.

RAIL BOND.

APPLIOATIOK FILED DEC. 24 1902.

i I) in mm I 2 .k a r S O Amid H U5 5 Fig 6 6B 4 Wi nesses ior contact areas.

'State of and useful Improvements in Rail-Bonds, of

UN ITED S IAiIES EDI/KARI) (l. 'IHOMAH. OF CAhlBlillJGl NASSAUlUSli'l l'ifii RA1LBOND.

Specification of Letters Iatcnt.

Patentcu re n. 2Q. 1908.

Application filed December 24.1902- Serial No. 136,468.

1'0 ail when it nun cmwrcrn:

. Be it known that I, Enwano G. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cambridge in the count Y of Middlcscx and Massachusetts, ave invented now which the following is a specification.

In electric-railway construction it IS now a.

' common ractice to utilize the rails for con- R the rail is sohrnited In'uch'difii'cult has been met with in devising a. sufficientlyexible and durable bond of the the ducting t e return current back to the gener'ato'r and t0 join, the adjacent ends of the rails'by flexible conductors, commonly called rail-bonds, in order-to provide the necessary electrical connection between the rails, the fish-plates or rail-joints themselves being insufficient for this urpose. It is desirable that these bonds she I be located beneath the plates of the rail-joints but the'spacc between one of thcs'plates and the adjacent Web of especially in width, that re'qiiisite;.c'l n'reilt''-v carryin capacity which cohld be locatedwithin t is space and attachd'at a enda the rails over sufiicient is intended to provide an nopmvema rcq ritl'relates more particularly toia 11 vol" ii'strubtion and manner ofattachiiiitb'fitlie endsof the bond whereby I am enabled to; term a strong and durable union betweg iifthe rails and the ends of the strands, {oiiiphsedover an amplecontact area. thisobjectin iziew 1 form an attach-- ingjsuri'hce on one side of the bond at each end of-t'hejsameflvhich surfaces are soldered dfptherwis united either to the rails directly or to special attaching-strips which are them- .stripfi jor laihinw'of which such bonds are 'eelycs soldered to the-rails, the construction beinggpreferabliy such that the flexible orti'ogi o .the hon 1 is spaced slightly away fi om V "lsfso as to'be out of contact therewith. Asit is usiially desirable to secure these bonds the rails by means of bolts or rivets in ad drtioh to the solder, my invention also hi cludes a novel construction 'whereb 'abled toopass bolts or-rivets through I am en the ends ofjpyv bond and to 'secure the necessary clampingecti'on thereby without danger of causlngthestrands or'strips to separate from 'number of superimposed fiet stripsflof usually soldered together.

one another or oth rwise impairing the in Fig.

, he will bet norc ing a slight modificationc elevation of apo'rtion of a lJOIM showing an} other modification. Fi l" 7 is a section on line E F in Fi 6, and section throw a girder-rail and raii jcihlg," showing one hi my bonds applied thereto. f;

Referring to Figs. I to 5 of th drawihfs my bond is shown therein as com-postage 2,which except at their ends are he a semicircular or other form ada ted-to vide the necessary fieiribility.- nasi'nhc the bond is to lie between one sideof the r'ail's.

3 and the plate 4 of arail-joint and niustezipond and contract inf'a plane parallel there:

Fig. 4 is a similar scctidnfon the q 7 6 is an end fig. 8 is a transverse with, these strips 2 are necessarily narrow, 8c

suliicient conducting .capacity being given to the bond by using a largc number of them.

At each end of the bond the stri s2 are h eld together in such manner that t e. collective edges of the ends of the strips themselves 85 form an'attachingesuriace on one side of the bond. This surface may be attached directly to the side of the rail, if desired but I usually prefer to secure an increased area of contact with the rail bv soldering a thin attnchingo stri 5 to the edgespf. the strips 2 at each ,end of t 1e bond, the opposite face of each strip 5 being adapted to be secured to the. surface of the rail. These strips fi serve not-onlymoiincrease the aleas of contaiit with the-rails but 9 also to hold the flexible p rtion of the bond out-of contact with the rails, and-to=obtain the latter result when the strips-5 are not em plo cd I prefer to make the ends ditheas'trips 2 s ghtly ijv'ider than the flexible-portions loo thereof, as shown at 6 in Fig. 5,. the; attaching-surfaces being in this case formed .hge-the edges of the laterally-extended portiohs v6. In practice the ends of these flex blc stripsare It is usually desireble to secure rail bon ds r5 tending s integral with the indinglate.

60 of said surface.

65 rail-web after having been app to the rails by bolts or rivets in addition to the solder; but inasmuch as the space between the rails and the plate of a rail-joint is ver narrow, as previously stated, it is also 5 desirable that the flexible portion of the bond shall be as wide as this space, if possible, and one portion of my invention relates to an ar ran emcnt whereby practically the full width of t is space is made available for the recep- 10 tion of saidflexilgle portion without revent ing the use of boltsor rivets for atta'c ring the bond to the rails.

or through this plate or formed integral with it. Thisarrangeinent is best shown in Figs.

20,2 and 4, the plate 8 being shown in Figs. 2

and 3 ascountersunk to receive the head of a bolt or rivet, thus reventing the latter from projecting beyon the outer edges of the strips 2 andenabling the bond to be made 'i'actic ally as wide as the space in which it is coated. The pl te s thus'proyides a solid part for holding t e threads or head of the attacliin bolt or rivet, the ends of the strips 2 'themse ves being evidently not well adapt- 3nd for this purpose h reason of their edge- 1 wise arrangement.

Fi 4 the recess 7" and binding-plate 8? 'are s own as having a l p triangular transverse section, and said plate ..'f;,.is shown at the right-hand end of Fig. 1 as .provided"with laterally? extendin ears 9,

" each having'an intem a y-threade perforation 10", adapted to engage the threaded end 49f an attaching-bolt.

- 'taching-bolts are used with each plate 8, o neither ofnwhich bolts passes through the strands or laminae of the bond, whereas at In this case two atthe left-hand end of: Fig. 1 the plate 8 is shpwn.as ptovided with a single perforation IQEnQvhich case the attaching means passes 5 through a corresponding perforation formed in the substance of the bond proper. In Fig. 5 an attachingfivet 8is shown as formed I consider the form 0 e recess 7 shown a in Fig.'.4f-.t 6 'beipreferable to that shown in Fig. 3, we the reason that the former leaves the currentcar 'ng'capacity of the flexible strips practical y undiminished, since the electric current which begins to pass through .the attachin surface as soon as itreaches 'ge of t esame is thereby progressively shed, so that the entire current does not have t9 pass through a contracted area of the strips in order to reach the opposite ed e I also prefer to emplo the double attaching means provided or liy a b nding-plate with two perforations, because the end of the bond is thereby prevented from twisting or turning in the 1plane of the 16d thereto,

uuquuu and in this case amalgam may be used to provide a good electrical contact between the meeting surfaces.

When the attaching means pass through the substance of the ends of the bond, as is the case in some of the constructions illustratcd, the perforations which receive said means necessarily sever the extreme outer ends of some of the strands or stri s from the remaining, portions thereof, and in order to hold the ends of all the strands together and preserve the solidity of the ends of the bond I provide means for engaging the side edges of the outer strands at or near their ends and preventing the separation of the strands under the compressing action of the attaching bolts or rivets. This is especially desirable if a solder attachment is employed, in which case the parts are heated during the process i of attachment and the solder is necessarily fluid. According to the construction shown such means are provided by extending the ends 11 of the binding-plate 8 inward or toward the attachin str1p 5 in such manner that said ends will faces of the end of the bond and prevent the assembled strips or strands from spreading or separating'in any manner. These ends l1 Wll evidentlv serve to hold the strips or strands together against any force tending to pull them apart and will therefore resist the action of the strains produced by the flexing ofthe bond. I therefore prefer to. employ them even though the ends of the hon be not perforated, such ends being shown at 11 in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 the binding-plates 8 and 8' are shown as having their inwardly-turned ends Hand 11 extended somewhat farther toward the intermediate or flexible-portion of the bond than are the central portions of said' plates. This arrangement is desirable because it provides security against the bending of the strips or strands at t e edge of the recess or at any point where the bond has less thickness than at its flexible portion.

When the flexible portion of the bondis semicircular in form, as herein illustrated, the inner strips or strands being shorter than the outer ones necessarily tend to straighten more than the latter when the endsof the bond separate, with the result that said inner stri s are liable to bend too abruptly where their soldered ends run into the free interme diate portion. This abrupt bending mabe prevented by the construction shown in ig. 1, in which that one of the ends 11 of the late 8 which is adjacent 'to the inner strip 2 is tinned inward a ainst the same and tended not only to tie oint where the solder terminates, but beyon the same; thus forming an extension 12, having a curved inner face 13, which face normally stands slightly away from the innermost stri 2, but supportsthe same when the ho is extended,

bear against the outer 55 faces'inthe same and also having a transversely-extending recess opposite said attacl'iing-surface, in combination with a U-shaped perforated binding-plate having its central portion lo- 5 cated insaid recess. I

7. A rail-bond comprising a number of flexible strips and an attaching-strip secured to the collective exposcdsurr'aces of said flexible strips on one side of the bond, said bond being also provided with a trans versely'extending recess opposite said attachin -,str ip, in combination with a U- shape perforated binding-plate having its central portion located in said recess.

'15 8. A rail-bondcom rising a number of flexible strips rovide with an attachingsurface formed y the collective ex posed surfaces of the strips on one side of the bond,

' and ,having a transversely-extending recess mg-surface intersecting the intended ath of the electric-currentconveyedby sai bond,

i in combinationwith a binding-plate located a in said recess, and means for preventing the lateral separation of said strips.

'f.; 9. A rail-bondconiprising a number of fiexiblestrips and an attaching-strip secured "-to the 'collective' exposed'surfaces of said flexible s'trips'on 'one side of the bond, and

i 56 extending be 'ondthe edges of said collective surfaces int iesame plane therewith, said 'bondij being also t provided with a transversely-extending recess opposite said atnation with a binding-plate located in said' recess.

5o 11. A rail-bond comprising a number of flexible strips and an attaching-strip secured to the collective ex osed surfaces of saidfiexible strips on one si e of the bond, and extending beyond the ed es of said collective surane therewith, said bond being provided with a transversely-extending recess located opposite said attachingstri and having its bottom forming an acute ang e with said attaching-strip, in combina- 60 tion with a binding-plate located in said re 12. A'rail-bond comprising a number of flexible strips rovided with an attachingsurface formed y the collective ex osed sur- 6 5 faces of the strips on one side of the 0nd, and

-opposite said attachingsurfacdsaid attach tachiii -strip, in combination with a binding- {35 ble strips on one side of the bond, said bond being also providedwith a transversely-extending recess, the bottom of which forms an acute angle with said attachin -strip, in combination with a U-shaped bin ing-plate hav- 1 ing its central portion located in said recess. 14. A rail-bond comprising anumberlof flexible strips rovided with an'jattachingsurface formed y the collective exposed surfaces of the strips on one side of the bond, in;-

combination with a U-shaped bindingplate:8 5

embracing saidjstrips opposite said attach-'1? ing-surface, the en s 0 said bindjnglate being formed; to extend late ally beyon the central portion thereof in a direction parall lcl with the length of the'strips', for the purpose set forth.

15. A rail-bbnd comprising .a numbei' of flexible stri s and an attaching-strip securpd -to the col ective exposed surfaces of sa id stri is on one side of the bond, in combination 9 5 with a U-shaped' binding-plate embracing; said flexible stri s o' posite said attachingstrip, the ends 0 the inding-plate being extended laterally beyond the central portion thereof, in a direction parallel withthe length [00 of the strips,'for the purpose set forth.

16. A rail-bond comprising a number of flexible strips rovided with an attachingsurface formed by the collective ex osed snrfaces of the strips on one sideof the 0nd, and x0 5 also having a transversely-extending recess opposite said attaching-surface, s'aidattaching-surface intersecting the intended ath of the electric current conveys by s'ai bond, in combination with a bind' '-plate ha 4 no its central portion located in said recess an having its ends extended be (and said'central orttion, toward theflexib e portion of the 17. A rail-bond comprising a number cit ng flexible strips and an attaching-strip secured to the collective ex osed surfaces of said flexible strips on one si e of the bond, and extending beyond the ed es, of said collective surfaces in the same p ane. therewith, said bond 12c being also provided with a transversely-(9x tendin recess opposite said attachin -strip,'-' in com ination with a binding-plate aving its centrabportion' located in the said recess and havingits, ends extended beyond said-'12 central portion,' toward the flexible portion of the bond.

18. A r il-bond comprising a number of flexible s ips rovided with an attachingsurface formed y the collective exposed sur- 1 o emcee jeccs of the strips on one side of the bond, in combination 'mth a U-shaped binding plate embracing said strips opposite said sttschin '-surfece and having on extended end provi ed with a. rounded inner surface adjacent gto the flexible portion of the bond, for the purpose set fort JAILAL mil bond comprising a number of 1 flexible stri' s and an attachingstrip secured to the col ective exposed surfaces of said Iflexible strips on one side of the bond in com- .'binetion w1th a,.-U-sheped binding-p ate embracing said strips opposite said attaching :surfsce andhavmg an extended end pro- Yided'with a rounded inner surface adjacent to "e flexible orti'on of the bond, for the osesetfort 1' Al'ail-bond "comprising a' number of flexible strips rovided'with an sttachingsurface formed hy'the collective ex osed suri foices of'thestripsohonesideof the ond,and also havi n w t a b nd ess' and having'fanfextended end provided 'ewith a rounded inner sin faeeedjacent to the gflexible portionof "the bond and .normelly 21'. A railbondcomprising a number of fle xiblc strips and an attaching-strip secured to the: collective I surfaces of said flexible strips on one side of the bond, said j f'bond also provided witha transverselyextendingzrecess opposite said attaching- 1 strip; in ,conl'bination withw binding-plate locetdii'ficid and havin an extend "cd'endpio 'th a round inner surface'cd acent to the flexible-portion of the bond-end normtdly' 'oilt'of contact therewith, for-the mp 'seset forth.-

-22, I rs l bond' comprising a number of "flexiblesttlps rovided ,with an attachingstlrfa'cef led ythe collectireexposcd surfaces of t trim on one side of the bond, in combination with a binding-plate placed against said strips opposite said ,attachingsurface, said binding plate being provided with two erforati'ons located adj scent to the edges of t e bond, and the direction of said perforations, being l perpendicular to saideolective exposed'su aces of the flexible strips.

} 23.. A railbond' comprising a number of flexible strips'grovided with an attaching- 5 5 surfacefornl'ed 'y the collective exposed surfaces of the strips on one side of the bond, in combination with a u shaped binding-plate embracing said stri'ps opposite said attachingsurfece, said blndingplate hein provi ed with two rforations located a acent to the edges of t e bond, and the direction of said perforations being erpendiculsr t9, said collective exposed su aces of the flexible strips.

new

I a transversely-extending recess opposite isald attaching'surface, in combine -'p1ate located'in said re- 7 a out ofcontact:therewitligiorlthe purpose set 24. A mil-bond comprising a number of flexible strips mad mi ottocliingstrip secured to the collective prqmsed surfaces of said strips on one side of the bond, in combination with e bindi 11g pint-c placed against said flexible strips opuosite sold ettec tiny-strip, and provided with two perfomi-ions coated adjacent to the edges; of the bond, the direc- Lion of sold ptYlUl'illlODS being perpendicular to said collective exposed surfaces of the flexible strips.

25. A mil-bond comprising a number of flexible strips and on attaching-strip secured to the collective exposed surfaces of said flexible strips on one side of the bond in combination with s U-sheped binding-plate em bracing said flexible strips opposite sliid sttachingstrips and provided with two perforations located'sdjacent to the edgesof the bond, the direction of said perforations being perpendicular to said collective exposed emaces of the flexible strips.

26. A rsil-bond comprising a, number of flexible strips provided with an attachingsurface formed by the collective exposed surfaces of the strips on ,one side of the bond, and also having a transversely-extendingrecess opposite said attaching-surfade,- in combination with a binding-plate having its central portion located in said recess and also having two perforations located adjacent to the edges of the bond. 4

27. A rail-bond comprising a number of flexible strips and an attaching-strip secured to thecollective exposed surfaces of said flexihis stri s on one side of the bond, ssid bond :00

bein it so provided with s transversely-exten ing recess opposite sand attaching-strip,

.in combination with a binding-plate havin its central portion located in said recess an also having two perforations located cent to the edges of the bond.

2S, Abindingplate forrnil-bonds provided with'two perforated lugs and also having its end portions extez'ided beyond one edge of its central portion, transversely to the direotion of" the perforations in said lugs.

29. A Ll-shaped binding-plate for railbonds ha ingits end portions extended latorally beyond one edge of its central portion and also having two perforated lugs located I: 5 on opposite sides of said central portion.

30. A roll bond comprising a number of flexible strips having superimposed fiat attaehing portiohs the corresponding edges of which-extendlaterally beyond the flexible x2e portion of the bond, said extending edges providing collectively an attaching-surface at one side of the bond.

31. A rail-bond comprising a number of flexible strips having superimposed vflet at :25 tsching portions the corresponding edges of which extend laterally beyond .the flexible portion of the bond, said extending edges providing collectively an attaching-surface V 'at one side of the bond, in combination with 13o r at one si means for clamping said attaching surface against a rail.

32. A rail-bond comprising a number of flexible strips having superimposed flat attaching portions the corresponding edges of which extend laterally beyond the flexible portion of the bond, said extending edges providing collectively an attacl1ing-surface at one side of the bond, in combination with a binding-plate embracing said strips opposite said attachi -surface.

33. A rail- 0nd comprising a number of flexible strips having superimposed flat at taehing portions the corresponding-edges of which extend laterally beyond the flexible portion of the bond, said extending edges providing collectively an attaching-surface e of the bond, in combination with a binding-plate applied to said strips opposite said attaching-surface and perforated to 20 receive an attaching bolt or rivet.

34. A rail-bond comprising a number of flexible strips having superimposed fiat attaching portions the corresponding edges of which extend laterally beyond the flexible portion of the bond, said extending edges providing collectively an attaching-surface at one si e of the bond, in combination with means for confining the attaching portions j of said strips in superim osed relation. '0

In testimony whereof have hereunto subscribed my name this 19th day of December, 1902. a

EDWARD G. THOMAS.

Witnesses: a i,

l E. D. CHADWIGK,

JosErH T. BRENNAN. 

